A tough game can sap a team, drain them off energy and leave them exhausted. Rajasthan Royals seemed bereft of energy as they gave away the game to Royal Challengers Bangalore on a platter. The team, which was on a high till this match, lost to the Bangalore outfit by 9 wickets with 23 balls remaining.
One tough game that the Royals lost to Kings XI Punjab left them gasping for breath and made them easy pickings for the Challengers in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at Ahmedabad. There was just no fight as the Royals meekly surrendered to a team that has been struggling in the IPL so far.
Meek surrender
Having been put in to bat, the Royals openers, Skipper Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane promised yet another dream start as they have done so far in the competition. Harshal Patel’s change of pace helped the Challengers to see the back of Rahane who was looking ominous and Watson was done in by Yuzvendra Chahal who set him up beautifully.
The two quick wickets meant that Steve Smith had to regroup what was left of the batting and take them to a fighting total. The Australian, however, could not boost the score falling to Mitchell Starc who infused some fresh blood into the Challengers attack. Starc bowled beautifully to put pressure on the Royals and finished with tidy figures of 3 wickets for 22 runs in his quota.
One aspect that has stopped the Challengers from dominating in the IPL has been the lack of bite in their attack. Starc’s superb show at Ahmedabad will give them a good reason to cheer as they know they have a superb batting line-up to provide good totals.
Royal’s middle-order disappointed as they gave their wickets away before settling in. Deepak Hooda played a nothing shot and Sanju Samson failed once again. The stocky Kerala batsman looks a pale shadow of himself after his promising start in the IPL a few seasons ago. It is time that he converted his tremendous talent into performances or will go down the same way, as did a fellow Keralite Paul Valthaty.
The Royals team management must seriously look at their middle-order as the team relies too much on Watson, Rahane and Smith and if one of the trio is not on the pitch, the rest are showing signs of crumbling. Smith’s venting, after his dismissal, showed his frustration that he could not be there at the end of the 20 overs.
A gift horse
The Challengers were given a gift horse and they did not disappoint. Chris Gayle, who was benched for being a haughty boy by his team against Mumbai Indians, returned to the fold and gave a good start before the goodly crowd at the Sardar Patel stadium saw a vaudeville act by two of the world’s best batsmen. Watson had no answer to the questions posed by Virat Kohli and A.B. de Villiers who took his bowlers apart with an unbeaten 98-run partnership.
Looking back, the Royals will realise that their batting was listless and they were in too much of a hurry. Biding out time, especially after the fall of consecutive wickets up the order would have helped them consolidate and give their bowlers an opportunity to fight. The Rajasthan outfit also became a victim of back-to-back games that do not give enough time for teams to reorganise their approach and change their strategy.
A two-day rest will probably give them an opportunity and reflect on what went wrong with the machine that was working so well. Two successive losses after five consecutive wins are bound to give the Royals a jolt, one that is much needed in a high-octane tournament like the IPL.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (134/1) beat Rajasthan Royals (130/9) by nine wickets.
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One tough game that the Royals lost to Kings XI Punjab left them gasping for breath and made them easy pickings for the Challengers in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at Ahmedabad. There was just no fight as the Royals meekly surrendered to a team that has been struggling in the IPL so far.
Meek surrender
Having been put in to bat, the Royals openers, Skipper Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane promised yet another dream start as they have done so far in the competition. Harshal Patel’s change of pace helped the Challengers to see the back of Rahane who was looking ominous and Watson was done in by Yuzvendra Chahal who set him up beautifully.
The two quick wickets meant that Steve Smith had to regroup what was left of the batting and take them to a fighting total. The Australian, however, could not boost the score falling to Mitchell Starc who infused some fresh blood into the Challengers attack. Starc bowled beautifully to put pressure on the Royals and finished with tidy figures of 3 wickets for 22 runs in his quota.
One aspect that has stopped the Challengers from dominating in the IPL has been the lack of bite in their attack. Starc’s superb show at Ahmedabad will give them a good reason to cheer as they know they have a superb batting line-up to provide good totals.
Royal’s middle-order disappointed as they gave their wickets away before settling in. Deepak Hooda played a nothing shot and Sanju Samson failed once again. The stocky Kerala batsman looks a pale shadow of himself after his promising start in the IPL a few seasons ago. It is time that he converted his tremendous talent into performances or will go down the same way, as did a fellow Keralite Paul Valthaty.
The Royals team management must seriously look at their middle-order as the team relies too much on Watson, Rahane and Smith and if one of the trio is not on the pitch, the rest are showing signs of crumbling. Smith’s venting, after his dismissal, showed his frustration that he could not be there at the end of the 20 overs.
A gift horse
The Challengers were given a gift horse and they did not disappoint. Chris Gayle, who was benched for being a haughty boy by his team against Mumbai Indians, returned to the fold and gave a good start before the goodly crowd at the Sardar Patel stadium saw a vaudeville act by two of the world’s best batsmen. Watson had no answer to the questions posed by Virat Kohli and A.B. de Villiers who took his bowlers apart with an unbeaten 98-run partnership.
Looking back, the Royals will realise that their batting was listless and they were in too much of a hurry. Biding out time, especially after the fall of consecutive wickets up the order would have helped them consolidate and give their bowlers an opportunity to fight. The Rajasthan outfit also became a victim of back-to-back games that do not give enough time for teams to reorganise their approach and change their strategy.
A two-day rest will probably give them an opportunity and reflect on what went wrong with the machine that was working so well. Two successive losses after five consecutive wins are bound to give the Royals a jolt, one that is much needed in a high-octane tournament like the IPL.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (134/1) beat Rajasthan Royals (130/9) by nine wickets.
